Work-Related stressors, Burnout, and Coping Strategies among Nurses Working in Mental Health Hospitals

This study was designed to identify work-related stressors, investigate the degree of burnout experienced by nurses working in mental hospitals, and investigate used coping strategies. A convenience sample of 100 male and female nurses were recruited from Abbasiya and Khanka Mental Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt, caring for mentally ill patients for at least two years, and having diploma of technical nursing schools. Study tools included an interview questionnaire for socio-demographic data and work-related stressors, Maslach Burnout Inventory [MBI] to measure burnout, and way of coping questionnaire [WOCQ] to investigate coping strategies were used. The finding indicated that psychiatric nurses experienced moderate [61.0%] to high [10.0%] levels of stressors and the contributing factors to these stressors as reported by nurses were related to administrative, direct patients care, and lack of support factors. Nurses also were experiencing high levels of burnout in the form of emotional exhaustion [46.0%], and depersonalization [78.0%]. A high level of personal accomplishment was revealed among 89% of nurses. Emotional-focused coping and problem-focused coping strategies were quite used by the majority of nurses. Meanwhile, problem-focused coping strategies were quite used by 85.0% of nurses, compared to 74.0% using emotional-focused coping. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the scores of stressors and burnout subscales, while no correlation could be revealed between coping and either stressors or burnout. Psychiatric nurses experienced moderate to high levels of stressors, burnout, and personal accomplishment. Nurses with higher level of stressors had higher levels of burnout. A comprehensive nursing intervention to minimize the level of stressors and burnout could be beneficial. These interventions may include pre-employment preparation and periodical in-service training to help nurses identify the sources of stressors and how to cope with them.